1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print server, a print control method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, along with the development of techniques used for webifying application software and print servers, application software, and print servers are provided on the Internet. When a user uses such application software and print servers, the user takes processing described below.
First, based on a request given by a client personal computer (PC), a web print server stores a print job in a spool state. The print job is issued not only by the user himself. For example, in place of the user, a different user can designate another user being a user that performs printing and issue a print job.
Then, in using a multifunction device (including a printer device having only the print function) at an arbitrary location (e.g., business trip destination) by using, for example, an ID card to be authenticated, the user can acquire a print job associated with the user from the web print server and give a print instruction of the print job.
In order to realize this operation via the Internet, the user issues a print job to the server before making a business trip and the server spools the print job. When the user operates a multifunction device at a location where the printed output is needed, the print job is transmitted from the server to the multifunction device and printed. Since the printed output is obtained at the site where it is needed, security can be enhanced. Further, the user does not need to carry the printed output to the location where the output is needed.
Since the spool function of the web print server also serves as a temporary storage of print jobs, the number of print jobs that are spooled is assumed to be greater than the number of conventional print jobs.
Further, the print jobs are not printed according to the order they are spooled in the web print server and, for example, only a print job selected by the user using the operation panel of the multifunction device is printed.
As a conventional technique used for selecting and printing the print job described above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-115102 discusses a technique used for performing user authentication and displaying a list of print jobs given by the authenticated user. The authenticated user selects a print job and performs printing.
Further, as a different conventional technique, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-280843 discusses a filtering technique. According to this technique, a search condition and a sort condition of a print job are set in advance for each user. When the user authentication is performed and a print job that corresponds to the search condition of the authenticated user is selected, the selected print job is printed.
According to the conventional technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-115102, the multifunction device needs to include a display/input unit by which information of a plurality of print jobs acquired from the web print server can be displayed and selected. However, regarding a multifunction device that includes only a display/input unit of a low display/input capability, it is difficult to display a list of print jobs. Accordingly, it is difficult for the user to select a job.
According to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-280843, since printing is performed according to the print condition and the sort order set in advance, the problem discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-115102 can be solved. However, the print condition needs to beset in advance if only the print job necessary at that time is to be printed.
For example, if user A visits an office on business and a certain printed output is urgently needed due to unexpected circumstances, it is natural that the user A asks user B, who can also issue a print job, to issue a print job whose user information is set to the user A by the server. However, if a different job that corresponds to the setting set in advance is spooled, according to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-280843, unnecessary printing may be performed.